Banker Juggles Business, Political Careers

LEESBURG — Charles Strickland saw himself as the new kid on the block when he moved from Jacksonville 16 years ago. But it didn't take him long to become a well- known new kid.

Since 1969, Strickland has effectively juggled business and political careers in Leesburg. As a senior vice president of Citizens National Bank, he oversees more than $50 million in loans annually. As city commissioner and mayor, he makes decisions that affect the area's 35,000 residents.

Like most business and government people in Lake County, Strickland is concerned about upgrading and diversifying the area's economy. Local efforts have been successful during the past two years to establish new industries and businesses, he said, but the county still is recovering from a devastated citrus industry.

''We've got to get something in here for what we've lost,'' he said.

The summer months will be a test of whether businesses and jobs can survive until the tourists and winter residents return later this year, Strickland said.

An increase this year in residential home construction is a healthy sign that the area is moving from a community geared to retirees, he said. In Leesburg, conventional home sales are outpacing mobile homes by 7 to 1 compared to previous years when mobile home sales dominated the county's housing market, he said.

Strickland said this shift in residential housing represents a major step for Lake County. Conventional homes usually are bought by families and mean a stronger tax base to pay for needed services, he said.

Strickland knows the importance of a healthy housing market. As the bank's chief loan officer, he knows how high interest rates can destroy a family's dream of owning a home.

Inflation remains under control but a bulging federal deficit threatens to fuel another increase in interest rates, which now run between 10.5 and 11 percent. In early 1986, interest rates probably will begin a slow ascent to a high of 14 or 15 percent, Strickland said.

As the nation's economy continues to cool off, people thinking about buying a home could get good prices on labor and materials, he said. Adjustable rate mortgages also can help finance home purchases because they offer more flexibility than fixed rate mortgages, he said.

Strickland started learning how to handle money and people as he was growing up in North Carolina. As a youth growing up in the 1930s and 1940s, Strickland watched his father buy and sell tobacco. At 18, he was a Golden Gloves boxer and learned to look an opponent in the eye, a trait he continues to employ with loan applicants and citizens appearing before the commission.

In the 1950s, he moved to Jacksonville where he worked for a large holding company, moving up from a position repossessing cars to divisional vice president. He said he grew weary of a hectic schedule that left little time for his family. He left his job and moved his wife and three children to Leesburg where he took a position at the bank.

But after moving to Leesburg, Strickland decided to run for the city commission in 1972 because of disagreement about the city's direction. He has been re-elected every term since and is serving his fourth one-year term as mayor.

Strickland, 56, handles a myriad of loan requests at his bank office. He said he enjoys being able to help out someone looking for a home or expanding a business. But he looks to the bottom line to determine whether a loan request is realistic.

He has made money through real estate and business investments. He said he uses an instinct he has developed from years of dealing with people.

''In this business you have got to have a gut feeling. You have to be able to read people,'' he said.

Strickland describes himself as the ''taxpayers' watchdog.'' Apparently, many voters agree because Strickland has been opposed only once during a commission election since 1972.